Ethiopian runners Tadese Takele and Sutume Asefa Kebede won the men’s and women’s race at the 2025 edition of Tokyo Marathon, one of the six World Marathon Majors, held on March 2, 2025.

Takele finished in two hours, three minutes and 23 seconds in the men’s race. In the women’s race Kebede clocked 2:16:31 to defend her title.

Weather on race day was unusually warm by Tokyo standards. It was perfect at the start of the race but got warmer in the second half of the race. The brunt of the shift in conditions was experienced by the amateur runners.

We spoke to a few runners from India about how they trained for the event and their experience, running the Tokyo Marathon.

Subhojit Roy

Pune-based Subhojit Roy was always more focused on running a well-timed marathon in different cities than on the six-star World Marathon Major (WMM) journey. Nevertheless, having done a few of them he decided to play along and complete all the six.

The six-star WMM circuit entails running the six marathons – Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City and Tokyo. Subhojit’s first WMM was Berlin Marathon, way back in 2017. This year, at Tokyo, he completed his six-star WMM journey. “ I got entry to the Tokyo Marathon after several attempts over the years,” he told this blog.

Towards the end of August 2024, Subhojit contracted chikungunya and had to drop out of the half marathon race at Hyderabad Marathon 2024. Though he recovered from the infection the aftereffects continued to wreak havoc for several weeks thereafter.

“ I had enrolled for Berlin Marathon 2024.  My training was absolutely negligible but I decided to go as all my bookings were non-refundable. On race day, I decided to run but carried some cash that would enable me to get back to my hotel in the event I could not complete,” he said. He finished the race in 3:12:59.

He continued to suffer body pain due to the chikungunya infection until sometime in December 2024. “ I had six weeks to train until the Tokyo Marathon,” he said. His coach Nihal Baig chalked out his training plan but a half marathon race timing and a tempo run did not turn out well. After a discussion with his coach, he altered his nutrition and was able to put in two weeks of very good training runs. “ After these training runs, I was confident,” he said.

He targeted a 3:08-finish but was able to finish in 3:05:56, a new personal record for Subhojit. “ The weather was warm and the last 5-6 kilometres were tough. I was not in a mood to let go. The weather turned warm by Tokyo standards but we train in much worse air quality and on traffic-laden roads,” he said. Subhojit was the fastest among Indian runners at the 2025 Tokyo Marathon.

“ My recovery after Tokyo Marathon has been quite good,” he said. He has enrolled for the 2025 Boston Marathon but is yet to decide on going for it.

“ My WMM journey has helped me maintain fitness, focus and sanity in the face of the many ups and downs of life. I think it has more than served the goal of self-improvement and discovery that I embarked upon when I started,” he said.

Narinder Sharma

Narinder Sharma, now a resident of Chandigarh, trains under Pune-based endurance athlete and coach, Kaustubh Radkar. He commenced his training under Kaustubh while he was at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. He has been running for over 10 years.

“ My training for the Tokyo Marathon went off quite well,” he said. His performance stayed on track though the rise in temperatures did impact him. Narinder finished in 3:31:57.

At Tokyo Marathon, runners are not allowed to carry their own water bottles. They are required to seek hydration support offered in a very organized manner all along the route.

Narinder, 61, an army veteran, has completed three of the six WMM so far – Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo. He is due to participate in the 2025 Boston Marathon slated to be held on April 21. He plans to resume his training shortly. “ After Boston Marathon, I may consider New York City Marathon, which is held on the first Sunday of November each year,” he said.

Harish Vasista

The 2025 edition of Tokyo Marathon was the culmination of the six-star WMM journey for Bengaluru-based runner Harish Vasista.

He had commenced his WMM journey in 2018 when he ran Berlin Marathon that year. Training under Bengaluru-based coach K.C. Kothandapani (also known as Pani Sir to runners), Harish followed his training plan. “ Every Sunday, he gives me a plan. Usually, the training plans are woven around the race I am planning to do, my current conditions and my ability,” he said. It is often a combination of fast runs, tempo runs, interval training and long runs on the one hand and strength training and stretching on the other, he said.

“ My coach had given me a target of 3:45 but I was able to better it, and finish in 3:43:11. I had no issues during my race at Tokyo but I missed a couple of water stations and that was tough as the weather was warmer than expected,” he said. Runners are required to go to specific water stations on the basis of the last digit of one’s bib number. “ With so many runners around, you do end up missing your water stations,” Harish said.

Running the six WMMs was a lifetime experience as one meets runners from different parts of the world. “ It is awesome to see runners come with challenges and difficulties and yet complete their run with perseverance. I enjoyed all my six marathons,” he said.

Harish has signed up for the Sydney Marathon, which is the seventh run to become a part of the World Marathon Major circuit. He said he would like to do the Ladakh Marathon but it may not be possible this year as Sydney Marathon falls on August 31, 2025 and the Ladakh Marathon is typically held in the first weekend of September. What awaits him closer home is the TCS World 10k in Bengaluru, scheduled to be held on April 27, 2025.

Dilip Ghadge

The 2025 Tokyo Marathon was Dilip Ghadge’s fourth World Marathon Major. He had done Berlin Marathon, London Marathon and Chicago Marathon earlier.

A resident of Kalyan near Mumbai, Dilip, 57, has been running for over 10 years. After the initial flurry of running events, Dilip wanted to run a marathon in a European city and was aiming for the Amsterdam Marathon. But he was advised to run the Berlin Marathon, one of the initial six WMMs. He did the race in 2023 and quickly followed it up with the 2024 London Marathon and the Tokyo Marathon this year.

As Dilip has ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) certification, he drew up his own training plan for Tokyo. “ Training went off quite well and the run was also good,” he said. Dilip finished in 3:52:26, a new personal record.

“ I had learnt about Tokyo Marathon rules, especially the one about hydration. At Tokyo, water is supplied in cups and runners have to gulp down quickly and resume their running. During my training runs, I practiced this method of drinking water – gulping from the bottle kept in my car,” he said.

His recovery has been good, helped mainly by lots of walking, He went on some sight-seeing trips in Japan after the run.

“ I will be running Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025 and I have already resumed my training,” he said. Later in August this year, he will be running the Sydney Marathon, which has now become part of the World Marathon Majors as its seventh event. Dilip’s sixth WMM – New York City Marathon – will have to be attempted in 2026.

Smita Kulkarni

Smita Kulkarni, a runner from Pune, completed five of the six marathons of WMM with her run at Tokyo Marathon this March.

Her training for the Tokyo Marathon went off well under coach Kaustubh Radkar. She was happy with her training. But the warm weather of race day threw up challenges. “ At Tokyo Marathon, runners are not allowed to carry hydration and with unexpectedly warm weather there was a rush at the hydration stations. Most runners were trying to grab water. It was a mess,” she said.

“ The first half of the race went off okay but during the second half we had no respite from the sun,” she said. Barring the problem with hydration everything else about Tokyo Marathon was good, Smita said. She finished in 3:57:51.

Smita is trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon and she needs to finish in 3:50 for her age category. Having finished Tokyo Marathon and with nothing immediate on the cards, Smita plans to get back to the gym for weight training.

“ In the past 15 months, I have done five marathons – New York City, Delhi, London, Ahmedabad and Tokyo,” she said acknowledging the fact that she needs to take a break from running and resume with renewed energy, later.

Sunanda Dayani

Sunanda Dayani, a runner from Mumbai, has been running for over ten years. Tokyo Marathon was her fourth WMM, having done the New York City Marathon in 2019, Berlin Marathon in 2023 and Chicago Marathon in 2024.

Guided by Coach Kaustabh Radkar, Sunanda went through a 16-week training plan that commenced in November 2024. “ My Tokyo run went off very well though the weather was much warmer than expected. It’s a late start and the sun was right on our heads,” she said. Sunanda found the second half of the race tough because of the sun. She finished the marathon in 3:58:32. Her personal best timing in a marathon is 2:55:23, secured at the Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon 2024.

“ My recovery has been quite good. I have been walking a lot in Japan,” she said. Sunanda, a nutritionist, plans to now focus on strength training and resume marathon training in July. Typically, runners in India ease off running during the summer months and focus on strength training. “ I may want to do a trek possibly,” she said.

Kranti Salvi

At Tokyo Marathon 2025, Kranti Salvi completed her six-star WMM journey.

“ Because I run regularly, I am always race ready,” she said. The Mumbai-based runner is often a podium finisher at most of the races that she participates in. She has also secured a Guinness World Record for being the fastest marathon runner in a saree at the 2018 Berlin Marathon, in Welsh dress at the 2022 London Marathon and in a Japanese kimono at the 2024 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

She used the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2025, held in January, as a long training run for the Tokyo Marathon. Her WMM journey began in 2017 with Boston Marathon.

“ Tokyo Marathon was a very different race compared to the other WMMs. There are many rules to adhere to. It’s also a silent race. The roads are excellent and the volunteers do a very good job,” she said.

She finished Tokyo Marathon in 3:59:09.

Back in time, she had wanted to do the Tokyo Marathon in a kimono but the race rules do not permit running in costumes. Having secured the requisite permissions from the Guinness World Records she decided to do it at the 2024 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Pramod Salvi

When Pramod Salvi signed up for his first long-distance race at the Mumbai Marathon many years ago, he enrolled for the full marathon without knowing what it entails.

He is not new to sports or adventure sports. He has been involved in many activities including tennis, swimming, equestrian events, motor rallying and hang gliding.

Pramod has been into recreational running for over 13-14 years and has done several marathons and many other shorter distance runs. He and his wife Kranti Salvi, a podium finisher in most runs, have been participating in several races of varying distances over the years.

At Tokyo, his run went off well barring some niggling cramps that he felt sometime around the 30 km mark. He finished the run in 5:23:03.

With this marathon, he has finished five of the six-star WMMs. He is yet to do the Boston Marathon.

Pratik Shetty

Mumbai-based Pratik Shetty learnt about World Marathon Majors when he decided to read about running to get information on injury prevention.

He started running sometime in 2014 primarily as a means to stay fit and keep himself involved in some sporting activity. At the 2016 Mumbai Marathon, he signed up for a full marathon. “ I realized later that I jumped to full marathon too early in my running. Following that Mumbai Marathon run, I ended up with an ankle injury,” he said. He decided to read up and find out more details about injury prevention. That’s when he got to know about World Marathon Majors.

Pratik, 34, has been registering for each of these WMMs and got entry to his first one at the 2018 Berlin Marathon. He bagged his second one at the 2025 Tokyo Marathon. He has four more to go for the six-star WMM medal.

“ My training for Tokyo Marathon was not good as my work kept me busy. My training mileage was quite low,” he said. On race day, he started well and was able to keep to his pace until the 22nd kilometre. After a toilet break at this point Pratik was not able to get back to his pace. He finished in 5:56:53.

“ The Tokyo Marathon course appears easy but the gentle inclines along the way do take a lot of energy out of the runner,” he said. Pratik will now be focusing on the Procam Slam, which entails running four races – TCS World 10 k in Bengaluru, Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, Tata Steel World 25 k in Kolkata and Tata Mumbai Marathon.

Having done the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) certification, Pratik chalks his own training plans. His next race will be the upcoming TCS World 10 km race in Bengaluru slated to be held on April 27, 2025.

(The author, Latha Venkatraman, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai)